Supporting means for inclined ladders.



W. S. TOTHILL. SUPPORTING MEANS FOR INCLINED LADDERS.

APPLICATION FILED NOVH, 19! 5.

Patented Nov. 21, 1916..

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WILLIA-M S. TOTHILL, O-F GH ICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SUPPORTING MEAN SFOR INCLINE!) LADDERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1916.

Application filedNovember 1, 1915. Serial No. 59,011.

To aZlw/zom it mag concern Be it known that- I WILLIAM S. To'rrnLL, acitizenof the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county ofCook, State of Illinois, have invented'certain new and usefulImprovements in Supporting Means for Inclined Ladders of which thefollowing is a specification, reference'being hadto the accompanying-tdrawings.

This invention relatesto inclined ladders for gymnasium'use'and itis'one of the objects of my invention to providenew and improvedmeans-for supporting the upper end of the ladder in any one of a seriesof adjusted positions.

It is another object of my invention to providenew and improved meansfor'adj usting '3 the ladder as desired.

It is another object of my invention to improve devices of this" type insundry details hereinafter pointed out The preferred means by which Ihave accomplished my several objects are illustrated in theaccompanyingdrawings and'arc hereinafter' specifically described.

That whiclrIbclieve to be new and desire to'cover by this application isset' forth in the claims.

lnthe drawings :-Figure lis a side view of a device embodying myimprovements; Fig. 2 is a vertical-section'taken'online22 of Fig. 3,showingin sideelevationthelad der and the standardforisupportingthefreeend of the ladder, and showing inxdotted lines the adjusted position ofthe ladder; Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section taken on line 33 of Fig.2; Fig. 1 is a horizontal cross-section taken on line i& of F ig'. 3;Fig. 5 is a front view of the auxiliary standard shown in Fig. 2; Fig; 6isa' fragmentary horizontal crosssectional view showing a modified formof construction, being a crosssectional view taken substantially on"-line (S -6 0i Fig. 7 and Fig.- 7 is :a'fragmenta'ry View of theparts'shown in Fig." 6 as seen from the right in' said figure. I

ReferringtoFigs. 1- to 5 oftheidrawings in which corresponding parts.are indicated by thesame reference characters-10 indi catcs a ladder ofany 'approved type the upper ends ofwhich are pivotally connected bymeans of couplingdevices 11 with an ad justable supporting." means 12supported as hereinafter described. The ladder 10 isprovided atits'freeend with brackets 13 which carry rollers 14 by reason of which thehandlingof the ladder is facilitated. A standard comprising uprights16-17 rising from a base 18 may be employed as desired for supportingthe free end of the ladder above the floor by means of a pin 19extending through suitable alined openings 20 in the uprights 1617. Asis shown in Fig. 2, the baselS is preferably wide enough to enable thestandard to maintain its upright position under normal conditions ofuse.

The means for holding the supporting 111eans 12 in adjusted positionvertically is madein the construction shown in the form of a standardcomprising uprights 21-22 secured in vertical position adjacent to awall23 by means of clips 24. Upon the inner faces of the uprights 2122are secured 5 channel-irons 2526 respectively, between 1 which theadjustable supporting means 12 is slidable vertically. .Thesupporting'means12 comprises two side-plates or brackets 2728and across-plate 29 fixedly secured betweensaid side-plates. Asis best shownin Figs. 3 and 4:, the side-plates 27-28are provided withvertically-extendingribs 30 having a sliding fit in the channel-irons2526 whereby the supporting means is readily movable up and downrelative to the uprights'2122. Means is pro vided for moving thesupporting means 12 up and down, comprising a cable 31 secured at one'end to a cross-beam 32 mounted upon the uprights2l22, said cablepassing from thecross-beam 32 under a pulley 33 carried bythecross-plate 29, and thence over pulleys" 34-35 journaled upon thecrossbeam 32.

The means for holding. the supporting means 12 in'adjusted position uponthe uprights 2l22*comprises pins 36-37 slidably mounted in" suitablesockets 38 extending throughthe plates2728 respectively. The inner'endsof the pins3637- are pivotally connected witha lever 39 which is pivotedupon'the cross plate 29, the construction beingisuch=thatupon a strokeof the'lever 39 in. clockwise direction in" Fig. 3 the pins lid -37 aredrawn inward toward each other, while upon a stroke of the lever in theopposite'direction the pins are projected laterally from the outer facesof the ribs 30. A spring serves to hold the lever yieldingly in suchposition as to cause the pins 3637 to extend outward from the ribs 30. Acable 41 is attached to the lower end of the lever 39 whence it extendsover a suitable pulley 42. As will be readily understood, a downwardpull upon the downwardly-extending end of the cable 41 serves to movethe lever 39 to the left in Fig. 3 against the action of the spring 40for retracting the pins 3637 from their extended positions. As bestshown in Fig. 3, each of the pins 36-37 is adapted to engage at itsouter end any one of a series of sockets 43 formed in the uprights 2122and extending through the webs of the channel-irons 2526.

Whenever it is desired to adjust the ladder 10, the downwardly-extendingend of the cable 31 is grasped, and the cable 41 is drawn downward forreleasing the pins 3637 from the uprights 2122. While holding the cable41 in tightened condition for preventing the pins 3637 from entering thesockets 43, the ladder is drawn to the desired position by means of thecable 31. As soon as the ladder has reached its desired position orapproximately the desired position, the cable 41 is released, permittingthe outer ends of the pins 3637 to engage the inner faces of the webs ofthe channelirons 2526. Whenever thereafter, in the continued upward ordownward movement of the supporting means 12, the pins 3637 are broughtopposite two sockets 43 in the uprights 2122, the pins are forcedoutward by the spring 40 into engagement with such sockets, whereuponthe ladder is held securely in position. As will be appreciated from theabove description, the adjustment of the ladder is very easilyaccomplished without the necessity for securing the cable 31 in anymanner. Moreover, after an adjustment is made there is no likelihood ofthe holding means working loose as is always a possibility when theladder is held in position by a cable. When supported by the pins 3637,the ladder is very securely held without yielding unduly under thestress of any weight normally put upon the ladder.

In Figs. 6 and 7 which show a modified form of supporting means, tubularuprights 44-45 are used in lieu of the wooden beams 2122 of theconstruction of Figs. 1 to 5. A supporting means is provided in lieu ofthe supporting means 12 of Figs. 1 to 5 com prising a cross-plate 46 andside-plates 47-48 formed integrally with the plate 46, being providedwith hooks 49 embracing the tubular standards 4445. The crossplate 46 isprovided with a pulley 50 corresponding to the pulley 33.

The latching means for holding the crossplate 46 adjustably in positionupon the uprights 44-45 comprises pins 51 extending through the plate 46and into suitable sockets 52 in the front faces of the tubular uprights4445. The pins 51 are mounted upon the rear face of a bracket 53 whichis pivotally mounted upon the plate 46, being held yieldingly inoperative position by means of a spring 54. A cable 55 extends downwardfrom a forwardly-extending portion of the bracket 53 for turning thebracket 53 against the action of the spring 54 for withdrawing the pins51 from the sockets 52 for permitting an adjustment of the plate 46 andthe ladder connected therewith.

By reason of the use of a bracket having an extended vertical bearingupon the standard for pivotally connecting the upper end of the ladderwith the standard so as to be adjustable relative thereto, and by reasonof disposing the pivot at some little distance in front of the standard,I have provided a construction by which any toggle action is preventedbetween the inclined ladder and the standard. Moreover, by reason of theextended vertical bearing of the bracket upon the standard, the strengthof the standard is utilized to much better advantage than if contactwere effected through a single bearing point, rendering it feasible inthis way to employ a relatively weaker construction of standard withoutunduly diminishing the margin of safety. By reason of the use of abracket slidably mounted upon the standard carrying the means by whichthe ladder is held fixed in adjusted position and adapted to maintainsuch securing means constantly in the desired operative positionrelative to the standard regardless of the changing angular position ofthe ladder relative to the standard, I have avoided the necessity fordisposing such securing means precisely at the axis upon which theladder is pivotally connected with the standard, in the construction Ihave employed being able to position the securing means at anyconvenient point upon the bracket.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of a standard fixed in upright position, a bracketslidably mounted upon said standard and having an extended verticalbearing thereon whereby it is held securely against angular movementrelative to the standard, means carried by said bracket for securing thebracket in adjusted vertical position upon the standard, a ladderpivotally connected with said bracket, and means comprising flexibleconnections having operative connection with the ladder for moving theladder and the bracket vertically relative to the standard.

2. The combination of a standard fixed in upright position, a bracketslidably mounted upon said standard and extending for- Ward therefrom,said bracket having an extended vertical bearing upon said standard, aladder pivotally connected at its upper end with the forwardly-extendingportion of said bracket, means carried by said bracket in rear of thepivotal connection of said ladder with the bracket for securing thebracket in adjusted vertical position upon the standard, and meanscomprising flexible connections having operative connection With thebracket for adjusting the bracket vertically relative to the standard.

WILLIAM S. TOTHILL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C. V

